"THE MATRIX" ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES: THE 8 UNRELEASED TRACKS ONE BY ONE

 

On September 8th, the Doors' material recorded at "The Matrix" between March 7th and 11th, 1967 was released in an audio-improved version based on the original sound sources. Among the 37 songs are 8 previously unreleased songs, which we will now briefly review one by one from a musical point of view.

- The first previously unreleased track we encounter is a new version of "My Eyes Have Seen You", which was already included in other releases of this live show. The difference lies in the fact that here we also find the song recorded on another night of "The Matrix" shows. Slightly rougher vocals and a stronger presence of Manzarek as a second singer are the only differences between this song and the one already available on this live release.

- The second unreleased track is perhaps the most interesting: "All Blues", a jazz tune written by Miles Davis for the historic April 1959 album "A Kind Of Blue". Morrison is not present here, as it is an instrumental of about 8 minutes, played to give more space to the rest of the band and to give the singer's voice a rest. We will publish a detailed analysis of this unreleased track soon!

- Third unreleased track, "When The Music's Over". This is a song that already existed in this live show, but here played by the band on another night. Again, there will be a follow-up article about this one. Suffice it to say that the Doors were already showing their more experimental side here in March 1967.

- Fourth unreleased track: "Summer's Almost Gone" from a different night than the one already included in the previous live versions of "The Matrix". Nevertheless, it is very good: it was worth having two of them, even though they are almost the same.

- Fifth unreleased: "Moonlight Drive". Same as above for "Summer's Almost Gone", with the difference that we will publish an analysis of this song live at "The Matrix", since it will appear six months later on "Strange Days" (the great record that gives us its name!).

- Sixth unreleased track: "Break On Through (To The Other Side)". Again, a second performance is added to what was already there. It's worth it: Manzarek accompanies Morrison on vocals for almost the entire song, then dives into a different and longer solo than on the LP version.

- Seventh unreleased track: "Alabama Song". This song also appeared on the previous live recording. This additional version comes from another night at "The Matrix" and contains a significant and controversial change never heard before. Instead of the original verse "Show me the way to the next little girl", Morrison and Manzarek singing together change it to "Show me the way to the next little boy". A spontaneous joke on stage? A deliberate variation to see what effect it would have on the audience?

- Eighth and last unreleased track, "Bag's Groove". Another jazz instrumental, this time written and recorded by Milt Jackson with a quintet under his own name in 1952. It was later recorded in its most famous form by Miles Davis in December 1954 with other great musicians (including Milt Jackson himself). We will also have an article dedicated to this instrumental.